Category: Mormon Polygamist Cults

Author and Speaker Luna Flesher Lindsey On July 7, 2016, I was cruising cyberspace's social media when I came across a most fascinating and brilliant person and writer, Luna Flesher Lindsey. Her comments on Facebook grabbed me. I could relate to them. I, too, was ostracized while living in Utah among the LDS/ The Church…

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My family in 1958 (I'm 2nd to left, middle row) (NOTE: Not Hurricane High School: But this photo is the best depiction I could find of how I recall Hurricane High back when I attended 6th-8th grades there, between 1957--1960.) A Memoir Story by Beulah Stephany Spencer-LeBaron It was the 1959–1960 school year in small-town…

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Media on My Extended Family, Friends, and Fundamentalist Mormon Cults This is a movie done some years ago about my infamous Uncle Ervil LeBaron, my mother's brother. He is now known as "Evil Ervil," and "The Mormon Manson." I knew, respected, and loved him before he went off the deep end with his sociopathy and…

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Picnicking in the Canyons above Colonia LeBaron, Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico In Mexico, Down Past the Rio Grande by Stephany Spencer Song Version:1— In Mexico, down past the Rio Grande,I buried my diaries in the desert sand;Now they lie lost in a foreign land --Lost in LeBaron when I fled the clan.Lost my poetry in the…

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Circa 1958: 11 of my parents' ultimately 14 children(I'm age 12, middle row, 2nd to left) Bio Ballad in Verse for Better or Worseby Stephany Spencer-LeBaronI was born some time agoAway out in the sticksIn Mexico’s Rocky Mountain RangeIn 1946Was raised in a Mormon cultWhere self-righteous hicksThought it sinfulWith…

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By Stephany Spencer: Review of my cousin Anna LeBaron’s Memoir: The Polygamist’s Daughter *Note:This is a re-post Review I wrote three years ago when Anna Le Baron's first Memoir came out. I'm happy to tell you she is now in the process of writing her second book. Follow her on social media sites such as…

NOTE: The following is a re-post of a past blog. Since that previous posting, some things have changed: E.g, Rebecca Kimbel recently published her amazing Memoir: Born in Polygamy. I bought the manuscript last week on Amazon.com. I'm now in the process of reading this masterpiece that promises to be the Bible of all books…

28-year-old Bill Tucker and 18-year-old Beulah Stephany Spencer-LeBaron de Tucker with our Six-month-old baby Asenath Marie "Where there's a will, there's a way." William James In July 1967, three months after my/our husband, William Preston Tucker/AKA: Bill Tucker (I say "our" husband because I was one of Bill's three wives), announced to the "church" he…

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MY EXPOSE ON POLYGAMY "Was It really a Divine Revelation from God to Joseph Smith that people had to live this so-called "principle" in order to attain the highest degree of glory in heaven?"* The above question was on the Discussion Board of a mainstream LDS Mormon blog site I happened to run into on…

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Circa 1962: three weeks after I was married off in an arranged marriage at age 16 to 26-year-old Mormon polygamist William Preston Tucker who already had the depicted two other wives--one 6 and the other 15 years older than I. On Feb 10, 2020, a Bill was on the table in the Utah senate to…

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https://youtu.be/8y6iiN1Awd4 "The Mormon Giant" Don Leon Jonathanwas the grandson of my grandpaAlma Dayer LeBaron's brother Leo LeBaron The Mormon Giant *By Kris WrayWhile Dayer LeBaron [Sr]'s eldest son Ben may have been able to do 100 push-ups in a traffic jam to demonstrate he was mighty and strong, and bellow out roars that would leave…

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Pt 42-A:Megalomania and theMaking of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Handsome Mexico-LeBarons Ervil, Joel, Verlan, Alma, and Floren Somehow we learn who we really areand then live with that decision."Eleanor Roosevelt I've long been on a quest to understand the making of the Mexico-LeBaron mind---its need to be number one, the best, in control of everyone---and always…

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Part 42-E:Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind 1953 Short Creek, Arizona Raid:My Mormon fundy mummy Esther LeBaron Spencer under arrest--her seven barefoot urchins in the forefront---plus another past-due in her tummy (Courtesy of Utah Historical Society) "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as…

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Part 42-D:Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Circa 1964: My mother Esther LeBaron Spencer Leaving a cult is a lot likedriving at night with your headlights on:You may only see a few feet in front of you,but you can make the whole journey that way.Stephany Spencer-LeBaron(Takeoff from E. L. Doctorow): "Writing a novel…

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Pt 42-C: Megalomania, and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Circa 1942: My mother Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer "Whatever we call the form–autobiography, memoir, personal history, family history–writing about one's life is a powerful human need.Writers are the custodians of memory, and memories have a way of dying with their owner.If it's a family…

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Pt 42-B:Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Mexico-LeBarons Grandmother Maud, Floren, Joel, Verlan, and Ervil A Rugged Constitutionalist: A Fundamentalist Mormon with a hard anti-government bent. Tell bleeding hearts that the Southern Poverty Law Centerhas listed the fundamentalists as a White supremacist, homophobic, antigovernment, totalitarian cult." PLYG: Ed Kociela In the previous blog,…

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Pt 42-A: Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Handsome Mexico-LeBarons Ervil, Joel, Verlan, Alma, and Floren Somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision."Eleanor Roosevelt I've long been on a quest to understand the making of the Mexico-LeBaron mind---its need to be number one, the best; in control…

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Pt 41-M: Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and "More on" LeBaron Madness Circa 2003: Stephany Spencer-LeBaron, age 57;36 years after fleeing polygamy and the cult "There are no heros. Only heroic decisions. You are never further than one decision away from making a difference. It doesn't matter whether it is a big difference or if it…

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Pt 41-k: Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and "More on" LeBaron Madness gifted, crazy, creative Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr “Polygamy attracts the type of men who do not wish to be accountable to anyone; least of all their wives. Marriage was not a partnership.”Karen MILLER: "My Life as a Sister Wife" *Continued from "Pt 41-J: Ross…

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Pt 41-J: Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and "More on" LeBaron Madness Circa 1921: Dayer and Maud M. LeBaron with first 6 of eventually 13 children to come;Back row, L. to R: Ben, Alma, Irene, JennyFront row: Ross Wesley Sr and Lucinda The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived, and dishonest–but…

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Pt 41-I: Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and "More on" LeBaron Madness Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr dancing with one of his many lovely daughters (Courtesy of Mary Bonnelle Taylor) In this blog, I continue with Tumblr-borrowed newsfeeds (See Tumblr for more such; and photos that didn't copy to these following newsfeeds): "The outcome of Thelma Elena…

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Part 41-G: Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and "More on" LeBaron Madness "People who think they are great, usually aren't"Old adage Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr and first wife Thelma Cox (Courtesy of Mary B. Taylor) *NOTE: The following very old newspaper feeds were posted on Tumblr. (See Tumblr for more Photos of these articles. Clicking on…

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Books & Media That Changed My Life for the Better oN MY JOURNEY from Fundism to freedom The mind-blowing truth about Roswell! “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” – Henry David Thoreau“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read…

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Pt 41-D: Esther LeBaron Spencer and 'More on' LeBaron Madness" My Bipolar-compromised uncle, Benjamin T. LeBaron I learned again and again in my life, until you get your own act together, you’re not ready for Big Love.What you’re ready for is one of those codependent relationships where you desperately need a partner.” Bruce H. Lipton, The Honeymoon…

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Rancho La Mora, Sonora: LeBaron-American-MexicanMassacre NOTE:Due to the recent Mexico-LeBaron tragedy, I interrupt my regular-scheduled blog to post the following Memorial. MSN.COM: US Victims in Mexico massacre were tied to family with long history of violence In Memoriam: My condolences to my extended-family members and friends murdered in the recent Rancho LaMora, Sonora, Mexico massacre.I'm…

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Pt 41-C: Esther LeBaron Spencer and 'More on' LeBaron Madness Five of the seven "one mighty and strong" Mexico-LeBaron boys, left to right: Verlan, Floren, Ervil, Joel, and Alma “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”Blaise Pascal When it comes to my Mexico-LeBaron relatives claiming to…

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Pt 41-B: Esther LeBaron Spencer and "More on" LeBaron Madness" Five of the seven "One Mighty and Strong" Mexico-LeBaron brothers (Left to right: Floren, Alma, Verlan, Joel, and Ervil) Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see; and they will not be a substitute for…

Pt 39: Ma, Pa, Me, And Polygamy on Parade My Mother: beautiful brainiac, talented, Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer "What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way to the coffin."Henry Ward Beecher Our habits of perfectionism are deeply harmful. Perfectionism distracts us and keeps us from moving forward, out of a fear of messing up…

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Pt 40-D: Esther LeBaron Spencer: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy Circa 1956: My parents and 9 of their ultimately 14 kids; shortly after leaving Short Creek, Arizona to live in nearby Hurricane, Utah Writers do not live one life, they live two. There is the living and then there is the writing. Anaïs…

1953 Short Creek Raid arrest of my Fundy, 58-year-old father Floyd Otto Spencer; in front of our rock home in Short Creek, Arizona (Courtesy of Utah State Historical Society) Pt 40-C: Esther LeBaron Spencer: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy UTAH POLYGAMY: PANDORA'S BOXAlthough the box is full of evils, we must remember there…

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Pt 40-B: Esther LeBaron Spencer: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy Gifted Susan Ray Schmidt was part of my Uncle Verlan LeBaron's harem. After escaping polygamy, she penned the above super memoir. Her writer's voice reads like a 19th-century Jane Austen novel. “The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing…

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Pt 40-A: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy Maud Lucinda McDonald LeBaron on her land in Colonia LeBaron, Mexico; with four of her sons, left to right: Floren, Alma, Verlan, Ervil "When a task is once begun,Never leave it till it's done;Be the labor great or small,Do it well or not at all." A…

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Pt 39: Ma, Pa, Me, And Polygamy on Parade My Mother: beautiful brainiac, talented, Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer "What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way to the coffin."Henry Ward Beecher Our habits of perfectionism are deeply harmful: Perfectionism distracts us and keeps us from moving forward, out of a fear of messing up…

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Pt 35a--38c: More LeBaron-Spencer Family History “The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.” ― Francis Bacon Pt 35-A: Alma Dayer LeBaron Lou Gehrig's Diseaseand "Who Got the Button?" Maud Lucinda McDonald LeBaron, Joel Franklin LeBaron, and Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but…

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Pt 37: Memoir of a Plyg: EDIFICATION at Utah’s Hurricane High School 1959: Members of my Hurricane, Utah Jr. High School Class (I'm on right, 2nd row from front) He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.That which does not kill us makes us stronger.He who fights with monsters might take…

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Pt 36: My Mom, Dad, and Dayer LeBaron's Death My mother Esther LeBaron Spencer with the 7 youngest of her 14 children "Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." Author Unknown In one or two places, my Grandmother Maud LeBaron is recorded as having said: "Joel "must be…

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Pt 34-A: Esther LeBaron Spencer, The Mexico LeBarons, and Hearing Voices The young and the old of my Grandpa, Alma Dayer LeBaron "There is only one way to bring a child upin the way he should goand that is to travel that way yourself."Abraham Lincoln IF it's true Grandpa Dayer's grandfather B.F. Johnson held a special…

Famous Poet, Pioneer, and Mormon Hymn Writer, my G.G.-Uncle Joel H. Johnson, Brother of BFJ While growing up, Mother talked about her amazing Great-grandfather B.F. Johnson -- amazing not only because he was one of the American West's and Mormondom's early pioneer heroes (he helped forge the last frontier, Utah); but also because he figured…

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"The First Command was to 'Multiply.' The Prophet taught us that Dominion & Power in the great future would be comensurate with the no [number] of 'Wives, Childin & Friends' that we inheret here. And that our great mission to earth was to Organize a Neculi of Heaven to take with us. To the increase…

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Pt 34-N: The LeBaron Madmen: Button, Button: Who Got the Button? Pt 34-N: The LeBaron Madmen: Button, Button: Who Got the Button? The above Photo shows five of the seven "Mexico-LeBaron madmen", Mother's brothers, who claimed to be "The One Mighty and Strong" at one time or another in their life. From left to right,…

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Pictured are five of the seven "One Mighty & Strong" LeBaron Boys (left to right): Verlan, Floren, Ervil, Joel, and Alma “Polygamy: Where a Prophet/Profit is made by fleecing his sheep!” ~Rebecca Kimbel Cont. from Pt 34-L: I left off last week stating: At one time, my uncle's Ben, Wesley, Joel, AND Ervil were ALL…

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Musician, Writer, and Mormon Fundi, Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer "Whether your memoir ever gets published isn't finally the point. There are many good reasons for writing that have nothing to do with getting published. Whatever we call the form–autobiography, memoir, personal history, Family history–writing about one's life is a powerful human need."Writers are the custodians of memory, and…

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My Grandpa Alma Dayer LeBaron's five youngest sons, "The Mexico-LeBaron Boys:" Left to right: Floren, Alma, Verlan, Joel, and Ervil "Now, I don't go along with either Joel's movement or Verlan's movement or Ervil's; and now there's a Floren, another brothren, and he's trying to start a movement."Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr.(Alma Dayer LeBaron's second-oldest son)…

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Hangdog-face Pedo-plyg Alex Joseph with his 12-year-old child bride---part of his harem [1] "I was once the world's greatest polygamist and I got cut out by Alex Joseph. He is smarter than I am. He's got more wives than I have ... He's in the herb business ... Ginseng ..."Ross Wesley LeBaron Sr [2] I…

Farewell to Floren McDonald LeBaron: The Last of The LeBarons FLOREN MCDONALD LEBARON The Last FarewellIN MEMORIAM "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"(Floren's favorite saying)~~~On February 17, 2019, Two months before his 92nd birthday, Floren McDonald LeBaron Left this earthly helm To join his family In a heavenly realm. Fourth youngest of thirteen children, Floren…

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My great-great-grandfather Benjamin Franklin Johnson/BFJ, Mormon Pioneer, Patriarch, and Prophet Joseph Smith's Power of Attorney "And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the sceptre of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his…

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Benjamin F. Johnson, Joseph Smith's brother-in-law, confidant, and early Mormon pioneer “One cannot change what one refuses to look at. Understanding their point of view, their position, and how they got that way is a beginning.”REBECCA KIMBEL My uncle Joel Franklin LeBaron wasn't much different from his father Alma Dayer who, before him, claimed to…

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Pt 34-C: The Mexico-LeBarons: Their Messianic Missions (1) Joseph Smith, Benjamin F Johnson, Alma Dayer LeBaron, and Joel Franklin LeBaron “Fundamentalist ideologies can be thought of as mental parasites. A parasite does not usually kill the host it inhabits, as it is critically dependent on it for survival. Instead, it feeds off it and changes…

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Mormon pioneer and polygamist Benjamin F. Johnson, Dayer LeBaron's grandfather, and Joseph Smith's confidant and brother-in-law “A wise person once said that people see what they want to see. That seems to be especially true in religion! Many of them just can't resist trying to shine brighter than the rest; even if the lights aren't…

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Pt 34-A: Esther LeBaron Spencer, The Mexico LeBarons, and Hearing Voices The young and the old of my Grandpa Dayer LeBaron "There is only one way to bring a child upin the way he should goand that is to travel that way yourself."Abraham Lincoln IF it's true Grandpa Dayer's grandfather B.F. Johnson said he held a…

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Pt 33: The Mexico-LeBarons and Familial Incest * My maternal great-grandparents Lucinda Mariah Emmerson and William Wesley McDonald "The heart of the mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."Honore De Balzac Incest on my maternal grandfather Alma Dayer LeBaron's side definitely contributed to the mental illness prevalent in…

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Pt 32: Esther LeBaron Spencer, the Mexico-LeBarons, and Mental Illness "The conscience of children is formed by the influences that surrounded them;their notions of good and evil are the result ofthe moral atmosphere they breathe."Jean Paul Richter We left off last week with this assertion: People should take responsibility for their actions; not project blame…

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Pt 31-D: Esther LeBaron Spencer, The-Mexico-LeBarons, and Mental Illness ~Picking up where we left off on "Pt 31-C: My Mama Esther LeBaron Spencer, The- Mexico-LeBarons, and Mental Illness": X-- Another factor leading to mental problems in the Dayer and Maud LeBaron family is: They held much in because they were supposed to be perfect Mormon…

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Pt 31-C: Esther LeBaron Spencer, the Mexico-LeBarons, and Mental Illness My maternal Grandpa, Alma Dayer LeBaron "He did the wrong thing for the right reason." Stephany Spencer-LeBaron Repeating what was said in previous blogs, both my mother and Grandmother Maud LeBaron believed the cause of mental illness in their immediate family was mainly due…

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Pt 31-B: Esther LeBaron Spencer, The Mexico LeBarons, and Mental Illness 1920: passport photo of Dayer and Maud LeBaron with their first six out of 13 children they would eventually have "As you work on your memoir, write with fidelity to your own experience while knowing that memory is fallible. Write with respect for your…

~ Pt 21: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade“Civilization is social ordersupporting cultural creativity.”Will DurantTaking up from "Pt 20-A-J: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade," it bears restating that one of my Mormon fundamentalist sisters who married so many Misters never ever caught on ... never bothered to catch on how to check out, before she took on…

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Me, my twin sisters Judith and Sharon on Mom's lap, and my sister Doris “Home is wherever I'm with you.”“HOME” by Edward Sharpand the Magnetic Zeros “Home,” by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros https://youtu.be/LzPPAw5tnqs "Home is whenever I'm with you."Edward Sharpe* Beginning where we left off in "Pt 27: More Memories of My Mama Esther…

My father and mother standing on their land "the Galeana Springs" Pt 27: More Memories of My Mom Esther LeBaron and Dad Floyd Spencer "One I love with all my heart,Mother, dear, it's you;And I want to make you glad;Yes, indeed, I do!I will help you every day,Smiling as I go,And I'll never make you…

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*NOTE: I've edited and rewritten parts of the 26-blog "Part 19" series. I have presently broken this rewritten and reposted series into two different parts consisting of 13 blogs each. ("Part 19: A--M" was recently posted.) This blog, "Part 19: N--Z," is the second half of the 26-blog series "Part 19: A--Z." (Also, I've individually posted each blog in this…

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Pt 26: More Memories of My Mom Esther LeBaron Spencer My mother Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer at age 21 "You can never go home." Sinclair Lewis Another variable in the equivocation, as to Mom's virginity on her wedding night, is the following (Perhaps I'm throwing a hand grenade into the equation?): When I was about fourteen, Momma told…

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Pt 25: Esther LeBaron Spencer, Pa, Me, 'n' Polygamy My parents and nine of their then 10 children in 1956 or 1957. I'm around 10 or 11 years old in this picture--just got back from cherry-picking in a friend's orchard so my hair is all mussed up. "Never complain about what your parents couldn't give…

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Pt 24: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade Life's HighwayTo everyone their openethA way, ways, and a way;And the high soul takes the high way,The low soul takes the low;While in between on the misty flatsThe rest drift to and fro.But to everyone their openethA high way and low.And everyone decidethThe way his soul…

"The LeBaron Story" is truly a "Vanity Book" -- not only because my uncle Verlan LeBaron paid a publishing company in 1981 (back when self-publishing was not the norm) to publish the book -- but also because it's a revisionistic, apologetic, and biased history of "the Mexico LeBarons;" i.e., my grandparents Maud and Dayer LeBaron and their offspring. What's more,…

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My Memoir: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade -- Part 23 "People see what they want to see till they want to see." Dena McLean (My cousin) I left off in blog, "Pt 22: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade," saying: Mama preached polygamy and told people they would go to hell if they did…

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Pt 22: Ma Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade As you work on your memoir,tell your story true, artfully and with courage,writing with fidelity to your own experiencewhile knowing that memory is fallible.Tracy Seeley.My Ruby Slippers, Repeating what was said in "Pt 21: Ma Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade, "I'm not proud of…

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~ Pt 21: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade “Civilization is social ordersupporting cultural creativity.”Will Durant Taking up from "Pt 20-A-J: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade," it bears restating that one of my Mormon fundamentalist sisters who married so many Misters never ever caught on ... never bothered to catch on how to check out, before she…

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Pt 20-A: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy-On-The-Down-Low Tom Weston said you can tell God created people in his own image because he hates all the same people, coincidentally, that you do. (The Christian far-right) I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On the Down-Low, Part 19-Z" remarking on a trip…

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Pt 20-J: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade People see what they want to see, believe what they want to believe; It's impossible to reason with an irrational person. Stephany Spencer I left off in "Pt 20-I: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade" saying in the cult I came from, a Mormon fundamentalist man usually…

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Pt 20-I: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on Parade My family in 1964 -- one sister absent) Abuse: “When fear rules, Obedience is the only survival choice." Toni Morrison "God Help the Child" My parents, though trying prodigiously to do what was right, foolishly spawned a bunch of foot-washing fundamentalist children bound by fear and…

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Listen on YouTube to my Aunt Irene (Kunz-LeBaron) Spencer's half-sister, my aunt-in-law Rebecca Kunz Kimbel's outstanding interview of Author Ed Kociela who wrote two excellent books I recommend: "Plygs," and "Plygs 2."* Till we learn from past mistakes, we're bound to repeat them and pass them on to our progeny ad infinitum in the form…

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My Memoir: Pt 20-G, Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy Parasites “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: The last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. Viktor Frankel "Man’s Search for Meaning” Continuing where we left off in "Pt 20-F, Ma,…

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Pt 20-F: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy on-the-down-low Notes from a Chat Site: "Narcissists make me melt down and cry like a child. It is a remarkable trick Narcissists pull. They are petty and acquisitive -- and have no scruples. They value themselves by how much they can steal from someone else through cunning, manipulation, or simply believing they are…

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"You have to have standards, no matter how low!" Anne Lamott Picking up from the previous blog, "Part 20-D: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy On-The-Down-Low:" Previously I said William Preston Tucker/ AKA: Bill, the 26-year-old polygamist I was pawned off on, was commonly two-faced. It was too important for him to be liked. And in order to be…

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Law 27 "People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a clause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform. Ask them to make sacrifices on…

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PART 1 My Memoir: My Daddy, Floyd Otto Spencer My Daddy, Floyd Otto Spencer, age 19 MY DADDY My Memoir Backstory “My Daddy” takes up where I left off writing “My Memoir Introduction: I Was Born a “Saint.” After I wrote this blog, I realized I'd put the cart before the horse -- started my Memoir bass-ackwards: I got myself…

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Pt 20-C: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy On-The-Down-Low Advice on How to Handle Overt/ Covert Narcissists: Saying "I do not consent" won't work with narcissists: They don't care about boundaries. They will keep coming at you. Look up "grey rock," quietly let authorities know of the toxic person, and, so you are taken seriously, allude…

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Pt 20-B: Ma, Pa, Me, and Polygamy On-The-Down-Low My parents Esther LeBaron-McDonald and Floyd Otto Spencer "To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power." Maya Angelou I left off with "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On The Down-Low -- Part 20-A." Let's now backtrack a few blogs…

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Tom Weston said you can tell God created people in his own image because he hates all the same people, coincidentally, that you do. (The Christian far-right) I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On the Down-Low, Part 19-Z" remarking on a trip I went on with Bill to…

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My Memoir: Part 19-Z: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On The Down-Low Women Beware: Philanderers are Opportunists: Big Pretenders. They will tell anybody anything they want to hear. How can you tell if they're lying? Their lips are moving. If a person will break a marriage contract, he or she will break any…

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Part 19-Y: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- and Polygamy On The Down-Low A Reflection: Is God then so ignorant of things, so unacquainted with the human heart that He has to find out about a man by testing him? Of course not. It is in order that a person may find out about himself. There are…

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Sing your song, Dance your dance, Tell your tale. ---Frank McCourt, Modern-day Dickens, Author of best-selling classics: Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man They Changed the Name of Our Hometown* 1— They changed the name of our hometown the other day, But in the hearts of some Short Creek will always stay; The cliffs so high, the…

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Part 19-X -- Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On-The-Down-Low Online Chat Notes Denote NPD: Narcissistic Personality Disorder Said one woman, "You know, it's so funny: I used to think my Ex was the most kind, loving, good-hearted man I ever met. I used to think he was such a treasure and that I didn't deserve him. When…

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Part 19-W, Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On-The-Down-Low William Preston Tucker and Stephen Silver People don't see what they don't want to see till they want to see. Stephany Spencer Taking up where we left off in, "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On-The-Down-Low, Part 19-V": Being an adolescent nineteen year…

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Part 19-V, Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On-The-Down-Low "You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better." Anne Lamott, "Bird by Bird" I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And Polygamy On-The-Down-Low, Part 19-U"…

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Part 19-T: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer And More Perils of Polygamy: My Honeymoon Bill and I "cutting the cake" "The sharing of stories broadens our outlook on life. People identify with and draw strength from reading about the struggles of others. Readers can ‘try on’ the life of the character/s in the story, and see how they would…

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Part 19-S, Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer And More Perils of Polygamy:My Honeymoon Billy and me in 1963, Ages 16 and 26 consecutively “And we are put on this earth a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love” ― William Blake I left off in "My Memoir: Part 19-R, Esther LeBaron McDonald…

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My Memoirs: Part 19-R, Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy: My Honeymoon My swollen-eyed Honeymoon photo, October 1963. We Honeymooned in a cheap hotel in Chihuahua City, Mexico; no screens on the windows but plenty of mosquitoes. "We all come from the past, and children ought to know what it was that went into…

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Part 19-Q -- Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy Could This be Bill with his first two wives, "horny toads" in a menage a trois? Sex, drugs, 'n' "rock 'n' roll" -- Rock on! "The truth told with love and consideration is the key. An honest account of what you experienced is…

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My Memoir: Part 19-P -- Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- More Perils of Polygamy “As I sifted through my memories, my life came to me in bits and pieces, often disconnected, just like my dreams. Even normal memory has gaps, but traumatic memory is even more discontinuous. This is my story, which put…

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My Memoir, Part 19-O: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy https://youtu.be/TqnyTqH55jw "Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver." Mark A. Clement Taking up where I left off in my blog "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald…

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I just discovered a most valuable and wonderful Website, "Zelph on the Shelf: Mormons, Ex-Mormons, and Censorship Culture." I read part of it. So very much look forward to reading more when I have time. Although I presently believe we are spiritual beings having a physical experience -- in other words, I am no longer a Social-Scientific-Thinker…

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My Memoir, Part 19-M: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "To handle your self, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. George Bernard Shaw Taking up where we left off in"My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-L": Bill's second wife, Lolita, played mouthpiece for "the family" when,…

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My Memoir Part 19-L: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- More Perils of Polygamy Two of Bill's Mormon French-missionary friends, LDS "Saints" "Dick 'n' Peter" "By their friends, ye shall know them." Biblical Adidge Taking up where we left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy, Part 19-K": I said in an earlier…

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My Memoir, Part 19-K: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- and More Perils of Polygamy "True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders." Warren G. Bennis Taking up where we left off in "My Memoir Backstory: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy, Part…

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My Memoir, Part 19-J: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." H.G. Wells Taking up where we left off in my last blog, "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-I": My husband William Preston Tucker/ Bill Had…

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My Memoir, Part 19-I: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy Beulah Stephany Spencer-LeBaron in 1972, age 26, and soon to graduate from UCLA after escaping polygamy in 1967!! "Man, created in God's image and likeness, is not just flesh and blood. The sexual instinct is not all that he has: Man is also,…

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My Memoir, Part 19-H: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind." Edward Gibbon I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-G" relating how I had come to realize people did not just…

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My Memoir, Part 19-G: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve people."…

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My Memoir, Part 19-F: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "Leadership is not wielding authority – It's empowering people." Becky Brodin I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-E" on the following note: I Now know my mother's brother, Ervil LeBaron, was a psychopath and sociopath…

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My Memoir, Part 19-E: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "An important question for leaders: 'Am I building people, or building my dream and using people to do it?' " John Maxwell I left off in "My Memoir Backstory: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-D" saying: The secretly arranged…

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My Memoir, Part 19-D: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "The successful leader is the one who makes the right move at the right moment with the right motive." John Maxwell Continuing where we left off in "My Memoir Backstory: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-C: Heck! Here I…

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My Memoir, Part 19-C: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln I left off in "My Memoir: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy -- Part 19-B" commenting: In Homer Babbitt's kiss There was no…

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My Memoir, Part 19-B: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- And More Perils of Polygamy "A wise leader inspires and motivates, rather than intimidating and manipulating." Henry Ford Getting back to my life being hijacked in the name of plural marriage: As I mentioned in my last blog, Mother's brother, Ervil M. LeBaron, was in on…

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My Memoir, Part 19-A: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- Ma, Pa, and Perils of Polygamy "No influence is so powerful as the that of the mother." Sarah Josepha Hale Picking up from "My Memoir Backstory: Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer -- Ma 'n' Pa -- Part 18:" As I've said before, Mother could not live…

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A Memoir: FLEEING POLYGAMY: Out of LeBaronism into the Lightby Stephany Spencer-LeBaron PART 1:Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer:My Mother: Image “Mother! For love of thee it was begun;In thy most honored name today ’tis done.And though all earthly cares must ceaseIn that fair land of everlasting peace,Love aye is one, and they who love…

Caveat … The story you are about to read is true and I never killed anyone unless it was a justifiable homicide. Fulano's Blog Search Guest Blog: David Marston's Life Story (A Brother of Anna LeBaron) Posted on November 7, 2010 Caveat…The story you are about to read is true and I never killed anyone…

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Investigative Journalist Scott Anderson, Author of The 4 O'clock Murders Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders," published in 1993, is a must-read for those interested in a documentary of America's most bizarre but now apparently defunct crime family. The Doc chronicles the history of this extremist cult initiated in the late 1960s by the sociopathic serial…

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This Memoir, written around thirty years ago, struck me as the work of an immature apologist and revisionist. Its bias toward Uncle Ervil's cold-hearted cult hangs like a cobweb over the entire tale authored by none other than my Ex-Aunt, the infamous Rena Chynoweth. The book is still in the public libraries, et Al; but…

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An update of my January 9, 2017 Review of "It's Not About the Sex" My Ass: Confessions of an Ex-Mormon Ex-Polygamist Ex-Wife: I don't usually do Book Reviews, for lack of time. But this book was so super, I listened to it straight through, on Audible; then listened to it again two times more -- then…

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Please note: I have barely begun to post a few photos of family and relatives. There is much more to come down the line. And when I have time, I will better organize the layout of these pictures, plus add names of who the people are in the photos; so you know better what you're looking at.…

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Dear readers, please note: I have changed names in my Memoirs, in various cases, to protect the innocent -- mainly myself! I also acknowledge that in writing my memoir blogs, I know I can't avoid hurting my family, relatives and past friends I grew up with. Anything I say at all against their…

The Book "Prophet's Prey," was authored by outstanding LDS Mormon Leader, Activist, Detective and Private Investigator Sam Brower. It is among the best books written on life within Mormon fundamentalist clans and enclaves. A film by the same title, "Prophet's Prey," opened in theaters on September 18th, 2017. It's based on Brower's chronicle of Warren Jeffs…

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Bio of Stephany Spencer ~ Stephany Spencer is a retired teacher on her endless summer -- and a Creative: An artist, lyricist, poet, performer, and musician. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico of American parents, she spent most of her life in the Western U.S., married young and was widowed at twenty-one. Left with a three-year daughter, she raised her…